The field of the invention is collapsible furniture.
Folding chairs are relatively popular, in part because they can be stored with considerably reduced space requirements when compared to non-folding chairs. Nevertheless, folding chairs still require relatively large space, since the dimension of the folding chair is generally reduced only along one space coordinate (e.g., reduced length). To further reduce the space requirement, collapsible chairs have been developed, in which further size reduction is achieved by folding the chair along at least two space coordinates (e.g., length and width). Various collapsing chairs are known in the art.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,621, for example, Cook et al. describes a collapsible chair with a foldable backrest, in which the chair has four legs that support the corners of a flexible square seat. The legs are movably attached to each other at about their respective midpoints, and the seat is collapsed in width and depth by turning the legs around the midpoint. While Cooks chair is relatively easy to unfold and collapse, Cooks chair provides relatively little stability and is prone to tipping over.
Improved stability can be achieved by including slidable cross bars between the legs as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,082,813 to Chen and U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,406 to Lee. Chen""s chair advantageously collapses to a relatively compact form. However, the position of the back support is limited to a vertical position, which may not be comfortable over a prolonged period. On the other hand, Lee""s chair provides an angled backrest, although it lacks a seat support entirely.
In addition to the problems of the collapsible chairs mentioned above, all or almost all of the known collapsible chairs suffer from a common disadvantage in that the seat will loose tension once the seat supports the weight of a person. Moreover, where known chairs are collapsible in a single motion, such chairs do typically fail to provide a seat support rod onto which the seat can be tensioned. Alternatively, where known chairs have a pair of seat support rods, such chairs generally require at least two folding motions (e.g., one motion in which the seat is folded upwards followed by one motion in which the seat is folded in a side-to-side movement). Moreover, all or almost all known collapsible chairs fail to provide solid armrests and a backrest that can be reclined. Therefore, there is a need to provide improved methods and apparatus for collapsible chairs.
The present invention is directed to a collapsible chair with a solid armrest in which the back reclines independently of the seat. In particular, the collapsible chair has a pair of front legs, a pair of rear legs, and a pair of seat support rods. A pair of back support rods is coupled to the rear legs, a seat is coupled to the seat support rods, and a pair of solid armrests is coupled to the rear legs and the back support rods. The front legs are coupled to the seat support rods with a first pair of cross braces, the rear legs are coupled to the back support rods with a second pair of cross braces, and the back support rods recline among a plurality of predetermined positions. All elements of contemplated chairs are coupled in a manner such that the chair collapses in a single movement in which the front legs approximate each other when the front legs pivot towards the rear legs.
In one aspect of the inventive subject matter, the rear legs are slidably coupled to the seat support rods and the backrest, and the front legs are pivotally coupled to the seat support rods. It is further contemplated that the back support rods recline independent of the front legs, the rear legs, and the seat support rods, and it is especially preferred that at least one of the solid armrests is a stepped armrest and coupled to a back support rod such that the back support rod reclines in two or more fixed positions.
In another aspect of the inventive subject matter, the seat is a tensioned seat that may or may not be coupled to the backrest to form a continuous supporting surface. Especially preferred seats and backrests are fabricated from weather resistant material, and the front legs, the rear legs, the cross braces, the back support rods, and the seat support rods are preferably manufactured from aluminum. It is further contemplated that the armrest is rotatably coupled to the back support rod and engages with the rear leg in one of at least 2 different positions, wherein the different positions are determined by the solid armrest.
In a further aspect of the inventive subject matter, a method of imparting collapsibility into a chair has one step in which a pair of front legs, a pair of rear legs, and a pair of seat support rods are provided. In another step, a pair of back support rods are coupled to the rear legs, and a seat is coupled to the seat support rods, and in yet another step, a pair of solid armrests is coupled to the rear legs and/or the back support rods such that the back support rods recline among a plurality of predetermined positions. In a further step, the front legs, the rear legs, the solid armrests, the back support rods, and the seat support rods are coupled to each other such that the chair collapses in a single movement in which the front legs approximate each other when the front legs pivot towards the rear legs.
Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals represent like components.